Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-19
TO J. n. BROWNING.
An Open Letter from Land Commits
sioner Hail TO the Representative
Of the Jumbo District.
Something about the Intentions OF the
Commissioner and of a Prospective
Trip to tho Panhandle
Ar>rlS. TEX. Aug. II. ISL.

that it do not pass unanswered.
Your reflections on the writer, who e--
pecially is charged with the sdmin.s.-a-
ton OF the Few isnd law, might, So ia as
ne IS concerned, remain unnoticcd. The
law is before tie people ard TIE
manner and results OF lis execution Will
soon be known Of al EIen. But il Is wei
inst the pubic be not misiGd or made %
suffer from misrepresentation.
Inst you, VINO .shOr so persiStentiy e.
mar, mutiIa:e and defeat tAjs Iaw while II
was being framed, should be heard frcm
at this juuc,uIe, Is not surprising. Just
at the time when is wisdom Is l1irg
indicated and its success almost as. w
ed, il is not un5Xp cted that you should
renew the attack. No man ever wished
for the success OF Z measure which he nat
fought so bitterly IS you did this law. Il
Is not human nature Che writer is
aware that you voted fer TIE bill. en- lis
final passage Your yintic5tiC1 de-
mands lis failure. And it is ncp.t PEI
haps, that if public opinion, EsU,ticie.t.y
misled, could be now aroused, 8 popular
clamor might follow which would e c.
the steadfsstngss Of the executors 0f the
law, and thus your original sims might
VET be GsirCd.
Iris law is he will Of the people, AVID
the Commissioner is their servant His
anbili0n is 10 administer it accsptSglr TO
them aud to the benz tit of the leaCIe
5 ate. His sworn duty is to administer
il faithfully. NV to proceed to answer
your letter specifically. lie must dec. ne
TO give you the assurance demanded, t1at
"ac,uaI settlers De allowed to purchase
their lands q the minimum price fixed by
the law You cannot have forgotten
that Ell effort was made, many members
fayorI1g J., TO pa. such provision n me
law while L was under consideration, but
The Legislature refused to 30 so. Such
al amendment GClu1uy passed the House
OF Vl.Cl YOU Tere member, bat was
tfter wards reccGsidered. How can YOU
now, in sGyance OF classification, SIX far
such pledge, the giving Of which would
Indicate disregard u law and con
tempt for the peoples representatives:
The "disqlIetlng rumors" you mention
are 70 be r, gretted, but tle Commissioner
does not feel responsible for them. Csn
ne declare il advance at what price lands
VIII be sold, which he is required to
"causc to he skihully CLASSIFIED and
. valued?' He certainly cannot, although
( his ignorance II these lsnGs IS not &C
-, "tOtsl" as you seem to belicyt. It was
not the Commissioner who Informed YOU
"that he had no persOHel knowledge oil
/ that county and It's lands" The Com
missioner bsj visited that COu1tr7 and
/ himself surveyed tens Il thousands Of
sores of It's lsnts many years before he
made your acquaintance or before yOdI
/ "persOnai Knowledge" Of the Panhandle
! began; and foE months past he mas been
| informing himself further from ey5r7
source available. He expects very soon
70 receive valuable and accurate iuforula-
! ton from the unjnstruCted Classiter whJu
you mention and who astonished ycu
! with his ignorance. When he sends il
/ the description Of the lands which he he.
! Deec directed 10 examine the Commits
/ sioner Will have no officially in causing
! tham 10 be "skIllfully classified" snd tt,
/ public interest will not suffer from TIT
/ agents lack Of previous personal hnOwI-
edge. He is practical and educaleC
surveyor, thoroughly competent, au(
when he shsll hsve put up the corners an
marked the lines Of the school lands II
Hemphill and Llp5comb counties tn.
actual settler Will be benefited, alshoug,
afterwards be slack. This work, yea Er,
aware, is done 6: the expense Of tle rail
road under the operation OF another law
which yCu fought very bitterly whe0 1
was 'ia bill" This agent or ClGsS.der, Ii
true, carried with him very few 'iHseruc
/ ions" but ne carried enough lie IS IN
structed to accurately aud m,uute,y de
scribe each quarter Of every section
whether w&teTed or dry, whether ur4gl
or rocky Gud broken, Waeths
smooth, undulsting or billy, Wdetl
CT poor or fertile Also s.. II
ilt0rmatiOn he can gather as 20 lard val
ues in every neighbCrhOod The Com
missioner will then cause the same 70 b
"ski!liulIy classified aad yslued" AS be
fore stated, il Cannot be tod in sdyanC
what his vaiustion will be But it will b
such as will not retsrd the settlement c
the country" it will be such IS Will no
only enable but will induce, move an
persuade actual settlers to take it. IN
interest Of the school fund demands TIL:
Now for your complaint to the Gov
ernor THAT it hes been one month sine
this act took effect" etc. Is it not a III
tie unkind If not unreasonable to CRITICS
the Commissioner for not having accom-
, plished more? His duties are muititud
; nous and mis- responsibilities tremeadOu.
1t certainly requires more than thirt
days to prepare for sale nearly 100000
acres Of land under law which require
, they shall first be skil'fully classified.
, The Commissioner might have fui
nisEed you copy q his rules and regu
iations Il you had applied to him ilstea
of to the "Co!respOning Clerk" FOR i'll
far he hss found it necessary to adog
and promulgste but one, to wit: at
: expressly understood that this lease
made sut j5Ct TO Classification and su1ist
. to tie rights of aCtusI settlers under =
law" This opens to settlement evsl
agricultural section as soon a. il SIS
: have been classified, and secures Z
right OF every actual settler who was en-
grazing section On July 70 purcAa:
four sections of grazing Iauds 50. soon
-classidsd, whether the same shsL, hay
been previously leased or not.
The Comm s-iCGer hopes 20 re abe
get alOng with very few rules and regul
: tons. Ire law Is wonderfully fUl. 81
explicit, snd you have but to read : car
fully to knoH what is going 20 he dan
? Ii shy rules are made they will be rel
\ feCtly in harmony with the Law cnd
m;GCT importance. He will furnish =
; county clerks with blanks and g f.
;. brief Instructions when the lists Of elias
1 fled lands are filed in taeir Offices {;
, public inspection.
+, Would you believe that the necessi
) for having these lands classified is a.mo
= universal throughout the state where a.
Z of them sr= lccsteo? F1on T. Paso
, Bowie end from the lower RIO Graude
: the Panhandle come advices thet settle